Tales of Mobius
by NikkiKaji-Chan
Summary: After the city of Mobotropolis is attacked, Nikki Kaji and her friends leave Arcadia and travel to the other side of Mobius, encountering new friends and enemies along the way. This story includes OCs, and will include official characters in the future. Will include OCxOC, OCxOfficial, and OfficialxOfficial. Contains strong language, violence, and some suggestive themes.
1. Beginnings

Somewhere in a universe far away exists a planet not many know exists. This planet is called Mobius. Mobius is the home planet of many different species of anthropomorphic animals, otherwise known as Mobians. These Mobians come in many different shapes and sizes, have different powers and abilities, and live all sorts of different lifestyles. They have democracies and kingdoms just like on Earth, as well as several different countries.

In the eastern hemisphere of Mobius is a kingdom named Arcadia. Arcadia is ruled over by the De Clare family, each member being a fox. King Ryouma and Queen Anita live in the Castle of Arcadia along with their beautiful daughter, Princess Naomi. Their lady in waiting, Amanda Kaji, had become the queen's best friend, and they treated each other like family. Princess Naomi and Amanda's daughter, Nikki, had become great friends as well.

It was a breezy spring day in Arcadia, the trees colored in several different shades of green. The sun was just rising, giving the kingdom an orange glow as mobians drove around in their fancy cars, most likely either going to work or getting breakfast. One certain hedgehog was sitting outside of a café, sipping slowly at her coffee as she watched her fellow citizens walk by, listening to some of their mixed conversations. Her red and grey hair flowed behind the iron chair she was sitting in, the girl's legs crossed. This girl was Nikki Kaji herself.

Despite being friends with the princess, Nikki wasn't considered to be famous, but was in no way just your average Arcadia citizen. She definitely had a special place in this world, but no one, not even herself, had really figured it out yet.

Nikki took another sip of coffee, pulling her beige coat tighter around her as another breeze passed by, the wind whistling as she shivered slightly. Even with the coat, the girl still could feel the cold hitting her skin like a fist, just because she decided to wear her normal crop top and skirt instead of something that would actually keep her warm. She quickly pulled her hand from her pocket, grabbing her half-eaten chocolate donut and taking another bite, the napkin it was sitting on flying away before she could set it back down.

"Damn it…" the girl whispered to herself, staring at the table where the napkin previously was. She sighed, swinging her head back and drinking the last of her coffee before standing up and throwing it into the trashcan. Nikki continued to walk down the sidewalk, yet she didn't know exactly where she was going. She didn't feel like going back to the castle, because honestly, the activities the royal staff provided for her and Naomi were become stale and boring.

Then, Nikki's phone started ringing in her coat pocket. She finished up her donut, licking her fingers of any remaining sugars before reaching into her pocket and taking out the phone, sliding her finger across the screen and placing it up to her ear.

"…Hello?"

"Hey, Nikki. Do you have any plans today?"

Nikki immediately recognized the voice as her friend, Starlight. In the background, there was music playing, which sounded way too loud and hype to listen to in the morning.

"Not really, no. I was just walking around town, got some coffee and a donut. Now I don't know what to do," Nikki replied.

"Well, let's see…They opened up that new park not too long ago. It seems like a pretty nice day, so, I wouldn't mind hanging out there and catching up on things."

Nikki had forgotten that her and Starlight hadn't hung out in a while due to her having a job. The two of them used to be the closest of friends, one of them always having the other's back. But things have changed since they were twelve and thirteen, and they had to start acting like adults, paying their own cellphone bills and drinking coffee every morning just to function right.

"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea, BUT, you can't bring Ryder along."

"But- Oh, fine. It'll just be us girls, no boys. So, I'll meet you there in about half an hour, okay? Don't be late, got it? You know how I like getting started on schedule."

Nikki chuckled, "Got it, Star."

The call then ended, Nikki slipping her phone back into her pocket and continuing her walk. The park wasn't that far away, and she was already out-and-about anyway, so she might as well get there early. Maybe even trick Starlight into thinking she was the one that was late. The devious plan made Nikki laugh inside. She crossed the street, making a left at the end of the sidewalk and pass all the small stores until she saw the huge plot of grassy land with the ginormous sakura tree in the center. She walked off of the sidewalk, reading the sign that said, "Welcome to Arcadia Park!" with, "Please no littering," in small letters at the bottom of it.

Since it was Saturday, a lot of people had started their morning jogs there, and their children were playing with their friends and having a good time. There weren't any slides, swings, or monkey bars like most parks have. This park was made so that people could have picnics and buy things from the small stands others set up there.

Nikki put her hands in her pocket, wandering around as she waited. Cherry blossoms were falling from the tree, landing on the ground and making it pink. Kids were crowded around the stands, buying balloons and food with their parent's money. The biggest group of children surrounded the ice cream stand, shouting out what flavored ice cream and popsicles they wanted from the pictures on the side of the cart. But something in particular caught Nikki's eye. It was a mint green bunny rabbit, who appeared to be standing in the front of the line. She only looked about eleven or twelve, much younger than the other kids. The girl kept getting cut in line, until she was finally one of the few kids left.

"Soft serve minty swirl please," she said politely, handing the cat on the other side of the cart a bunch of quarters. The vendor accepted the money, getting out a cone with green and black ice cream on top of it. Just as the bunny girl grabbed it, a taller porcupine that looked much older quickly stole it from her hands, licking it.

"Hey!" the girl yelled.

The porcupine gagged. "Mint, gross!" he exclaimed, dropping the ice cream on the ground. "Not only do you have a bad taste in clothing, but ice cream too."

The bunny girl looked down at the ground, sniffling. From the side, Nikki had seen the entire thing, anger suddenly growing in her body. She stormed towards the group, standing in front of the younger girl and looking at the porcupine.

"Hey, you apologize to this girl right now. That was rude, and a waste of her money. What even gives you the right to do that?!" Nikki confronted.

"And who are you, and what makes you think you can tell me what to do, bitch?" the porcupine replied, laughing.

Fire could be seen in Nikki's eyes. Not only did she hate seeing others being bullied, but when someone disrespects her as well, that's the final straw. Her right hand elite with a small fire as she grabbed the boy by his shirt collar, the fabric slowly burning away as he was lifted off the ground.

"Look you little punk; I don't accept bullshit from kids like you like your friends or family might. So, you're going to apologize right now, got it?!" Nikki scolded. She put the boy back onto the ground, fear on his face.

"S-Sorry Mint! Sorry Miss, so sorry!" he said cowardly. Quickly, the porcupine ran off, and his days of bullying were over.

Nikki turned around, seeing Mint staring at her in horror after what had just happened. It was silent for a few seconds.

"Your hands-…"

"Yeah, I know," Nikki interrupted, knowing that Mint was referring to the flames that had suddenly appeared. She walked up to the ice cream stand, buying another mint swirl as well as a soft served vanilla cone for herself. She handed the mint swirl to Mint, the bunny girl slightly confused.

"Why are you helping me?" she asked.

Nikki shrugged, licking her ice cream. "I dunno, it's just when I see others getting bullied, something goes off in me and I react. Not to mention I hate disrespect. By the way, I heard your name was Mint? I'm Nikki." Nikki replied. She looked towards the entrance to the park, seeing her friend walk in and look around. "Hey, I'll see you around. Try not to get into any trouble, okay?"

Mint nodded her head, a smile forming on her face as someone called her name, the girl running off. Seeing that girl happy made Nikki smile as well, and she walked towards were Starlight was standing and greeted her.

"You're late," Nikki teased. Starlight rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Don't try to pull that on me, Nikki. I know you were already out and decided to get here early," Starlight replied. Nikki groaned, forgetting that she told Starlight she went out for coffee and a donut today. Starlight looked at Nikki's vanilla soft serve, then at Nikki. "You didn't even buy me ice cream!"


	2. In Search of Heroes 1

Morning had become afternoon, the birds singing and bees buzzing. Nikki and Starlight were sitting under the big sakura tree in Arcadia Park. Starlight was resting her head on Nikki's shoulder, reading a book about worldwide cultures, while Nikki was on her phone reading recent news reports. One of the most recent ones was about an aircraft sighted in the western hemisphere around Kingdom Acorn and Mobotropolis. It had brought some concern to citizens and even the royal council, but the aircraft mysteriously disappeared the next day. Since then, the Kingdom Acorn security had been on high alert just in case a new threat arose.

"What do you think about that aircraft sighting, Starlight?" Nikki asked her friend. The other girl looked up, humming.

"Well, it's definitely weird that a random, gigantic ship just appears out of nowhere. But if nothing's happened, I don't think they should worry too much. Besides, that story is about four days old," Starlight replied. She returned to her book.

Then, Nikki's phone began to ring, the girl reaching for her pocket and pulling out her phone. She looked at the caller ID: Naomi. The girl slide, letting her phone ring for a few more seconds before answering. "Hey, Naomi," she said, putting the phone up to her ear.

"Nikki, I need to see you in the meeting room at the castle. It's important, so, please get here as quickly as possible," Naomi said on the other line. Without a goodbye, the phone hung up.

Nikki stared at her phone screen for a few seconds, surprised by the sudden urgency. "Hey, Starlight, I have to go," she said. Nikki stood up, Starlight picking her head up from Nikki's shoulder and looking at her.

"What's the big deal? Is something wrong?" Starlight questioned, standing up as well. Nikki didn't respond immediately, wondering if she should be worried or not.

"I'm not sure, the royal family needs me to report to the castle," Nikki replied.

"Well, I'm coming with you," Starlight said firmly, placing her hand on Nikki's shoulder. At first, Nikki wanted to protest, but simply started walking to the cast, Starlight following right behind her. Neither of them knew what to expect.

Once the girls arrived at the castle, two guards were standing outside of the entrance, their weapons in hand to make sure no one that was unwelcomed got inside. "State your identity," the guard on the left said firmly.

"I am Nikki Kaji, daughter of Amanda Kaji. And this is Starlight Janus, my friend," Nikki replied.

The guards looked at each other for a few seconds. Then, they nodded, stepping out of the way of the door and letting the girls enter. Nikki thanked them, her and Starlight walking through the gates and along the stone path. The front of the castle had a huge garden, filled with all sorts of colorful flowers and trees. Some small animals made it their home, such as squirrels and birds who managed to get passed the gate. Nikki remembered how her and Naomi used to sometimes sneak into the garden and feed the animals their leftover food when everyone else was busy. Good times.

Once they reached the front of the castle, the two girls worked together to push the doors open, causing them to make a loud creaking noise. The main hall was gorgeous, a big chandelier in the center of the room with two flights of stairs on each side. Portraits of the king, queen, and princess were hung on the walls, the fireplace crackling as it warmed up the living space. In that back was the meeting hall, Nikki and Starlight opening the door.

Inside, the king, queen, and princess were at the front of the room, Ryouma and Anite behind their podiums as Naomi sat in her seat to the side of them. The rest of the council were sitting at the huge table in the center, papers scattered around in front of each of them. Even Nikki's mother was there, the woman smiling as she saw her daughter enter the room.

"Nikki? I don't recall inviting you to the council meeting today," the king said, confusion on his face.

"I-I did father," Naomi admitted, placing her hands behind her back and swaying from side to side. The council gasped, Nikki and Starlight standing silently, waiting for a reaction. "I knew you needed help with the team, and I knew Nikki would be a good person to call. She's strong, and confident, and I trust her," Naomi continued, "Just, for once, please trust my judgement."

The king looked at his daughter for a few seconds, then sighed. "You and your friend have a seat, Nikki," Ryouma finally said, "We were just about to begin."

Nikki and Starlight quickly took the remaining seats, as this was the first royal meeting either of them had attended. They had no idea what was going on, or why this was so important that Naomi felt like they had to be there.

"As you all may know, a few days ago there were reports of an aircraft in the western hemisphere of Mobius, specifically around Kingdom Acorn and Mobotropolis," the king started. Everyone nodded, Nikki recalling how she had seen it on the news earlier at the park.

"Well, it turns out it was, indeed, a threat," the king continued, "The aircraft reappeared today, attacking Mobotropolis. It has already destroyed most of the city, though it was stopped by a certain hero. However, this does not mean that they can hold up that kingdom forever. In order to keep our alliance with the Acorn Kingdom, we must send over help immediately."

"Permission to speak?" Starlight asked.

"Permission granted," the king replied.

"How exactly do you plan on gaining these heroes to send to the Acorn Kingdom. In case you haven't noticed, most of the people here are better at spending money than fighting,"

"Starlight!" Nikki scolded, obviously embarrassed by how the hedgehog described their kingdom. The queen sighed.

"Unfortunately, she's right. Our citizens have almost never had to deal with danger as large as this. Which is why, with the help of our daughter and her idea, we have decided to take volunteers from whoever wants to be a part of this journey. If we're lucky, people with at least some skills in the field will step up to the plate. Most, however, will probably need proper training," the queen said, "I assume my daughter called you hear because you're skilled?"

"You could say that I am a very strong fighter, with pyrokinetics to match. My friend Starlight here is also a genius, by far the smartest person I know. She's created lots of inventions in the past, and has helped me solve many problem," Nikki replied. Starlight blushed at the compliment, the queen obviously impressed.

"Well, I guess it has come to a vote. All in favor of Princess Naomi's idea, raise your hand," Ryouma announced.

Everyone in the room, including Nikki and Starlight, raised their hands high into the air. "It is settled then. We will put posters up about the volunteering, and to meet in the arena for training tomorrow. Everyone is dismissed," the queen said. All of the council members stood from their seats, dispersing from the room in an orderly fashion. Naomi managed to catch up with Nikki and Starlight.

"I-I'm sorry for putting you on the spot like that, Nikki. I just really wanted you to be a part of this team. You are the strongest person I know, and I'm sure you'll be able to help everyone who decided to be a part of this group of heroes," Naomi said.

"Actually, I've been looking for a bit of adventure lately. It's like this opportunity was destiny," Nikki replied, laughing.

"However, you'll still need to show up at the arena tomorrow and show off your potential. It could possibly determine your placement in the group. Like, if you'll be more of a fighter, or strategist, or leader. But I think I already know what you and Starlight will be," Naomi said. All three of them laughed, the sky turning orange once they reached the outside. "Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow. Get some shut eye, because it's gonna be a big day!" Naomi said excitingly. She waved to the two hedgehogs, heading back inside.

Nikki and Starlight looked at each other, leaving the castle and then heading their separate ways. The two of them knew that the next day would be the greatest day of their lives.


	3. In Search of Heroes 2

The next day, volunteer papers were scattered all throughout the streets, stapled against store walls and flying through the wind. People began to arrive at the arena around noon, though not many were there to actually volunteer, but instead watch and see who would become a part of this team of heroes. Naomi decided to wait about half an hour after the initial start time, though in the end, very few people actually signed up.

Nikki was in the back of the arena preparing herself. Naomi was tying the hedgehog's grey and red hair back into a ponytail so that it wouldn't get in the way of her eyes, while Nikki filed her nails.

"I really was expected more people to volunteer. At this rate, we'll just have to accept anyone who decided to show up and just train them however much is necessary," Naomi said. She tugged on Nikki's hair, making sure the ponytail holder was tight enough. She stepped back to look at her hard work, placing her hands on her hips and smiling. "You look like a natural born fighter."

"I wouldn't say 'natural', Naomi. I mean, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have my strengths or powers," Nikki replied. An expression of sadness formed on Naomi's face, knowing what Nikki meant. She recalled the time they encountered the eternal flame when they were children, and the horror on their parents' faces when most of Nikki's hair had suddenly changed from grey to red. To this day, Naomi still blames herself for letting it happen, even though it was Nikki's idea to explore the castle in the first place.

Nikki noticed the princess's expression, sighing and standing up. She approached Naomi, wrapping her arms around her waist and giving the girl a hug. "I didn't mean to say it like that, Naomi… I'm actually grateful for what happened that day, if it makes you feel any better," Nikki said. Naomi sniffled, breaking the hug and wiping her eyes. Just then, the queen entered the room, walking to her daughter and placing her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"It's time to start," Anita said. She lead Naomi to the stairs, the princess looking back at her friend before disappearing into the stairway as the door shut behind her. Nikki took the other exit, finding her way into the crowd and sitting next to Starlight, who had purchased a huge chicken leg. The other people in the arena began to cheer as the king and queen appeared at the top of the arena, Princess Naomi standing in the front, holding her magic wand.

"Greetings, people of Arcadia," Naomi said loudly, "Welcome to the Team of Heroes training event. Down in the arena grounds, we have four brave participants who will cooperate in a series of test for not only their strength, but their ability to work together as a team. Now, let's begin."

On the south side of the arena, a large, metal gate began to lift, releasing a horde of robots onto the arena grounds. They charged towards the team of Mobians, some firing lasers and other preparing to attack with their metal hands.

One of the competitors, Cameron, leaped towards the robot immediately. The female hedgehog, Ariana, followed behind him. She jumped up, Cameron putting his hands under her left foot and lifting the girl higher into the air. Aria spun around, turning into a cyclomatic form and slamming into the ground, robots flying across the arena, blowing up when the hit the ground.

The crowd roared, but the enemies were still coming. The final competitor, a dark blue hedgehog with long quills, reached for the sword that hung by his side. He pulled it out, the metal weapon shining against the sun's light. He let out a battle cry, charging towards a robot and slashing it straight through the middle. It fell to the ground, sparking and exploding soon after.

Starlight sighed in awe, her eyes fluttering. Nikki already knew why, recognizing that final hedgehog as Ryder, Starlight's boyfriend. "Isn't he just the best?" Starlight asked. Nikki didn't bother to reply, crossing her legs and playing with her ponytail out of boredom. Though she didn't mind fighting, watching people battle was not one of her best interest.

A few seconds later, a bell rang out through the arena, finalizing that the robot hordes were done with. Everyone there stood up from their seats and cheered, the three heroes on the field smiling and waving, though they looked pretty tired out. Starlight left her seat and went through the gate, Nikki following behind her as they walked onto the dirt field. The black and green hedgehog hugged her boyfriend, a smile on her face.

"You were amazing, Ryder," she said, letting go of the male. Ryder blushing, chuckling as he scratched the back of his head.

Soon enough, Princess Naomi appeared on the arena field, a microphone in her hand as she approached the group. "Everyone, we are the heroes representing Arcadia, and soon all six of us will be on our way to Mobotropolis in order to help Kingdom Acorn fight against the enemy threatening their region," she announced.

Once again, the crowd clapped, Naomi bowing as her and the new group of heroes made their way out of the arena and towards the castle. Everyone was escorted in a white limo, some people already standing outside. It didn't take long to reach their destination, and there was already a feast ready once they arrived.

"Wooow," Ariana examined, spinning around once to get a good look at the castle, "This place is huuge!"

"Indeed," Naomi said, giggling, "Despite living here my entire life, sometimes I get lost myself!"

Everyone laughed, taking their seat in the dining room. Several different types of foods and drinks were laid out amongst the table, the group trying their best not to drool from the smells, their stomachs rumbling silently. The king and queen walking into the dining area a few minutes later, Ryouma placing his hand on Naomi's shoulder as he walked by.

The couple took their seats at the front, everyone going silent as they waited in anticipation for the announcement to eat.


	4. Arrival in Mobotropolis

Early the next day, Nikki woke up to the sound of her phone's alarm clock underneath her pillow. It was about six in the morning, and she had to start getting ready to go to the castle and leave for Mobotropolis. Nikki leaned up and yawned, standing up off of her bed and stretching for a few seconds before walking over to her window and sliding the curtains apart. Sunlight poured into her room, small dust particles floating around and then disappearing as she walked through them.

Nikki reached under her bed, grabbing a large, red duffle bag which was mostly filled with clothes and other things that she would need while away from home. Since there was still some space, the girl decided to take some things that would make her feel closer to home even when she was far away. Nikki brought a teddy bear her boyfriend, Vexx, had given to her at the fair they went to a long time ago, as well as an ipod her mother gave to her before she'd gotten a phone. It was filled with all of her favorite music.

The hedgehog started for the door, turning off all the lights in her apartment and grabbing her purse. But before she could leave, Nikki spotted a small device on her desk, which was glowing dimly. She put her stuff down, walking towards it and picking it up, smiling. This device was something her father had given to her a while back when he started venturing out and was away from home a lot. It was originally a voice synthesizer created so that Nikki would have someone to be with whenever she was feeling lonely. As time had gone on, this voice was given the name Yumi, and soon was programmed to understand Nikki's emotions and help her in times of need.

Nikki opened up the device, pushing a button and causing the screen to light up. The name "YUMI" appeared for a few seconds, before a voice started speaking from the small computer. Every time she spoke, soundwaves went up and down across the screen depending on the tone of her voice.

"Good morning, Nikki! Why are you up so early?" Yumi asked, her voice sounding much like that of a computer program, yet cute at the same time.

"Well, Yumi, I'm bringing you along on my trip to Mobotropolis. I'd feel bad just leaving you here with no one to interact with," Nikki replied. Yumi squealed, her voice glitching out as the soundwaves went all across the screen.

"Road trip! Road trip!" the AI girl chanted. Nikki powered off the device, placing it in her purse and finally leaving her home, closing the door behind her and locking it. She walked down about two flights of stairs before being able to leave the apartment complex, walking down the street with her purse on one shoulder, and her duffle bag on the other. She was only able to keep this up for a few seconds, and soon found herself dragging her luggage on the ground as it began to weigh her down.

Finally, Nikki arrived at Arcadia Castle, the guards letting her enter. They offered to take her bag to the jet, Nikki immediately dropping her duffle bag and running inside the castle. Inside, there was a small buffet of breakfast food in the living room, everyone else preparing to leave. Nikki walked over to the food, brewing herself a cup of coffee and getting a blueberry muffin before sitting down next to Starlight, who was reading news articles on her tablet about Mobotropolis and their people.

"It sounds like a really nice place…" Starlight said, swiping the screen to continue reading about the Acorn Kingdom. "The rulers are King Maximillian and Queen Alicia, and they even have a daughter named Princess Sally Acorn who's the same age as you, Nikki!" Starlight exclaimed. Nikki didn't make any comments, allowing Starlight to continue reading. "But ever since the recent attack, citizens have been living in fear of another one. I can't start to imagine the struggles the king and queen are currently going through…"

Just then, Naomi walked downstairs from her room, the guards taking her bags and loading them onto the jet. "Has everyone finished their breakfast? I hope it wasn't too bad, since I was in such a rush to make it…my apologies. Anyway, the jet is loaded with all of our luggage and supplies, and we should be ready to head out," Naomi announced, "And, don't worry, our jet had a camouflage that we'll use once we enter Mobotropolis, just in case someone or something tries to attack.

Everyone stood up, following Naomi into the garden where there was a black jet on a loading panel, the Arcadia flag on the side of it. The engine was already starting up, a door on the side of the jet lifting up as stairs descending to the ground, Naomi the first to get on as everyone else followed behind her. The king, queen, and Amanda were standing outside, waving the heroes their goodbyes, tears escaping their eyes as they tried to hold them back. Nikki whispered a small prayer as the jet began to lift off of the ground, and once high into the air, blasted off and away from the kingdom. Now, there was no turning back.

A few minutes passed, and no one had said a word. There were three seats on each side of the jet, Nikki, Starlight, and Ryder sitting on one side while Naomi, Cameron, and Ariana sat on the other. There was champagne in one of the fridges, though most of them were barely old enough to even be drinking. So instead, Naomi presented everyone with ginger ale instead.

"I don't think we've formally introduced each other yet," Cameron said, breaking the silence, "Well, my name is Cameron. I am sixteen years old, and I am a hydrokinetic. Let's see, uh, my favorite food is pizza, and I'm single and ready to mingle," he said, winking at Naomi. The princess scoffed, rolling her eyes, "Not interested."

Ariana raised her hand, everyone looking at her. "My name is Ariana, but most people call me Aria. It's kinda ironic, because I actually enjoy music a lot, and have a passion for singing. Although I don't have any special powers, most people think I am a great strategist and overall leader. I tend to get along with people easily as well," she said, "Oh, and my favorite food is doughnuts."

Nikki, Starlight, and Ryder didn't even bother to say much about themselves, simply just saying their names. Naomi cleared her through, throwing her empty can of soda away. "Well, we should arrive in Mobotropolis in about one in a half hours, so I guess we should get some rest since we woke up so early just to get the flight," she said. Naomi clapped twice, the lights in the jet cutting off, though the room wasn't completely dark since the sun was starting to rise outside. Everyone reclined their seats, grabbing a cover and pillow and preparing to get however much sleep they could. Nikki went into her purse and pulled out her tiny voice synthesizer, plugging her headphones into the device and turning it on. The screen lit up, Yumi giving Nikki the same greeting as before. "Yumi, can you sing me a lullaby?" Nikki asked quietly.

"As you wish, Nikki!" Yumi replied. She went silent for a few seconds, before singing a slow song with a piano playing in the background. Nikki recognized the song immediately, remembering how her mother always used to sing it to her when she had trouble sleeping. After a while, she taught Yumi how to sing the song after her mother figured Nikki didn't need bedtime songs anymore. Now, it was just a song that put the hedgehog at peace. After only a few minutes, Nikki had finally fallen asleep.

"Nikki…Nikki!" Starlight yelled, shaking her friend's shoulder. Nikki shot up from her seat, her and Starlight's heads bumping into each other as they groaned in pain.

"We will be landing soon," Naomi said. Aria jumped out of her seat and ran to a window, gasping in excitement as she pressed her face against the glass. "Woow, it's amazing!" she exclaimed, giggling. Nikki looked out the window, the clouds around them disappearing as they revealed a beautiful kingdom. There were several houses upon the grassy plains, and the entire city was surrounded by a wall. Though the city had just been attacked a few days ago, citizens had already began repairing it, and it already began to look as though nothing had happened. Castle Acorn was resting upon a hill near the back of the city. The jet prepared to land in front of the city, everyone inside fastening their seatbelts.

When they landed, the door of the jet lifted open, the stairs leading to the ground. Citizens of Mobotropolis left out of their homes and stopped what they were doing, gathering in front of the jet in both curiosity and fear. Naomi was the first to step out, wand in hand. She walked down the first step, and then the other, the citizens taking a step back every time she got closer.

Then, someone out of the crowd pushed themselves towards the front as Naomi finally stepped onto solid ground. It was a pink hedgehog wearing a red dress and headband, who appeared to be about fourteen. She approached the princess with no fear, making the fox stop walking.

"Who are you?" she questioned.

"I could ask you the same thing," Naomi replied, not amused by the hedgehog's fierce attitude.

"Why I oughta-!" the pink hedgehog said in annoyance, a red and yellow hammer appearing in her hands.

"Amy, stop!" a voiced yelled from out of the crowd. A yellow fox emerged from the group of people, running up to the girl and stopping her from starting any fighting. "I apologize, milady. Amy has just been very…aggressive, since Mobotropolis was attacked," the boy said.

"Have not, Tails!" Amy retorted, lowering her hammer.

All of the others finally made their way out of the jet, surprised by the amount of people standing outside.

"I guess you need to notify the king and queen that you are here. Follow me, I'll show you guys to the castle," Tails said, motioning the six of them to follow. He turned around and started for the castle, everyone right behind them as the crowd parted, forming a path for them to go down, several murmurs being heard amongst them.

"Who are those guys?"  
"Why are they here?"  
"Did Tails call that girl…milady? Is she someone special?"

After just a bit of walking, the group approached the castle, Tails opening the large doors and leading them into the main hall. All of a sudden, groups of guards surrounded them, pointing their spears at them and shouting at the group, telling them to stand still. King Max and Queen Alicia appeared from one of the upstairs rooms, walking down the stairs and approaching everyone.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Max questioned. Tails walked forward towards the king and queen, bowing.

"This is the Princess of Arcadia, your highness. I'd recognize her anywhere. She's brought her group of heroes to help us protect Mobotropolis!" Tails replied. The guards gasped, lowering their weapons and bowing. Naomi walked forward, putting her wand at her side and bowing respectfully.

"Greetings King Maximillian, Queen Alicia," she said in a monotone voice. This is the most serious Nikki had ever heard Naomi speak. Usually the princess was shy and quiet, but this time around she spoke with firmness and seriousness. From the top of the stairs, Princess Sally was looking down at the group, her body from the chest up leaning over the railing. Beside her was a blue hedgehog, his arms crossed as he watched as well.

"Please, just call me King Max," the king replied, laughing jollily. He bowed as well, along with his wife. He heard the two teenagers behind him, looking up past the railing. "Don't be shy, you two! Come on down and introduce yourselves!" he told them. The chipmunk and hedgehog looked at each other, making their way down the stairs and standing next to the king. Both of them bowed, and Naomi did the same for the princess.

"I've seen you in the news, Princess Sally," Naomi said, giggling.

"Please, just call me Sally. I'm not the one for fancy titles," Sally replied, chuckling.

"I've seen you too! You're uh…" Naomi said, struggling to recall the blue hedgehog's name.

Aria stepped up. "That's Sonic, the world's fastest hedgehog, commonly known as the blue blur. He's, like, one of the most well-known members of the freedom fighters!" she said. Aria immediately silenced herself, brushing as she stepped back, embarrassed by her sudden outburst.

"I guess I should introduce everyone else. This is Nikki, Starlight, Ryder, Aria, and Cameron," Naomi said, pointing at each Mobian respectively. Each one of them bowed.

"So, King Anita and King Ryouma did not attend the trip here?" King Max questioned.

Naomi shook her head. "They…couldn't. Important business came up, and they trusted me to be able to help lead our heroes into battle if threats ever appeared again," she replied. The king and queen looked at each other and nodded.

"Well, our next meeting will start in an hour, so everyone make themselves at home," the queen replied. Her and the king went into the room in which they usually write their speeches and other news reports, leaving the teens by themselves. Sonic and Tails immediately headed for the door.

"Where are you guys going?" Sally questioned.

"We're gonna go walk around the Great Forest for a bit, maybe do some training. I'll be back in an hour in time for the meeting," Sonic replied. Cameron and Ryder followed behind them.

"It's also a good way to get to know the area a bit," Ryder added on. Cameron quickly agreed, and the four boys exited the castle. The girls stood there for a few seconds in silence.

"Is there a library here, Sally?" Starlight questioned.

"Oh there you go again, books books books," Nikki commented. Starlight ignored the remark, awaiting Sally response.

"Just walk down the hall and it's the second door to the left," Sally replied. Starlight thanked her, walking down the hall and leaving only three girls to remain. With nothing else to do, they decided to follow the boys into the Great Forest.


	5. Another Attack!

The Great Forest was such a beautiful, peaceful place to be. There were lots of plants and animals, and it was a nice place to train as well. A long time ago, Eggman's robots had knocked out a section of the forest, but some citizens used this as a training area instead of replanting all of the trees. Sonic, Tails, Ryder, and Cameron were all in the open area, stretching and getting ready to do a few exercises. Amy was sitting on a log not too far away, ready to support the boys with drinks and towels when they became tired.

Sally, Nikki, Aria, and Naomi came in from the north of the forest where they could quickly get to the training area. They stayed hidden away in the trees, only wanting to watch and see what was going to happen.

"Okay, what's first?" Ryder asked, taking out his sword.

"You two versus us," Sonic replied, pointing to Cameron and Ryder and then himself and Tails.

"Wait- Just right off the bat? No running? No other workouts?" Cameron questioned.

"When you're out in the field, you're gonna have to know how to fight against Eggman's robots. Then again, you're probably not up to par like Sonic and I; which is why I prepared this," Tails replied. He pulled out a remote control, hitting a button on it. Then, out of the bushes, a few robots appeared, weapons ready. "These bots were made to test your strength. Let's see how we're able to work together and take them out."

Ryder ran up to one of the robots, preparing to slam his sword down. However, his attack was countered as the bot caught the blade of his sword in between its hands, spinning around and tossing it along with Ryder into a tree. Sonic quickly spin dashed into it, the bot blowing up. He looked at Ryder, laughing.

"You can't just go running up to a robot in plain sight like that and expect to get a hit off," Sonic said, "but thanks for being a distraction."

The dark blue hedgehog rubbed his head from the impact of the tree, groaning. Naomi quickly ran out of the shadows, approaching Ryder and kneeling to his side. "Are you okay?" she asked, placing her hand on Ryder's head.

Ryder didn't say anything, huffing and crossing his arms. The rest of the girls decided to show themselves, making their way to the log Amy was sitting on.

"You guys don't wanna train? It's never too late to practice a few things," Tails said. Nikki and Sally shook their heads. All of a sudden, everyone heard a faint explosion towards the castle. Immediately, Sally shot up, running towards the castle. Everyone followed behind her, leaving the forest and re-entering Mobotropolis. When they arrived, there were swatbots everywhere, attacking citizens and destroying their resources.

"Sonic, Tails, Amy, Ariana and I will take east; you guys take west!" Sally commanded. Everyone nodded, the first group heading to the right and the others heading to the left. All of the citizens seemed to be in a panic, but calmed down once they saw the heroes arrive.

"If we're gonna take them out, we need to work together," Naomi said. She got out her wand, and a purple aura surrounded one of the robots. Nikki quickly stepped up to the plate, her hand engulfed in flames as she punched the robots straight in the center, causing it to break immediately. From behind, another two approached the girl, and she looked back just quick enough to see them. Nikki jumped to the side, a burst of water shooting past her and hitting the robots, knocking them into a food cart and exploding. She saw Cameron, who gave a thumbs up which she returned.

Still, the panicking citizens didn't help. The explosion of the cart only made things worse, but luckily people soon just began to retreat to their houses. On the other side of the city, Ariana was fending off against robots with a metal pipe, struggling to defend herself as her teammates were busy helping citizens and destroying other robots.

"A-A little help?!" Aria yelped. Caught off guard, the metal pipe was knocked out of her hand, the girl falling backwards with no way to defend herself. Aria kept backing up on the ground, the robots charging towards her. She screamed, covering her face in fear as one of the robots powered up its laser. But then there was an explosion sound in front of her, but Aria was still afraid to look.

"Hey, it's okay, they're gone," a voice said. Aria looked up, seeing Sonic standing above her. Indeed, there were three completely destroyed robots beside him, the insides of them sparking and short-circuiting. The blue hedgehog held out his hand to the girl, the female grabbing it and standing up. Aria blushed, placing her right hand on her left arm and looking down in embarrassment.

"Thanks…" Aria said quietly. It seemed like everything had gone silent, and everyone had stopped moving. Scraps of robots where everywhere, and the city was a mess. Citizens began to leave their homes once more, overjoyed that the robots were gone. They began chanting, "Freedom Fighters! Freedom Fighters!" over and over, cheering for their heroes. The two groups rejoined each other, giving each other high fives and such. Then, Starlight came running up to them.

"Guys! King-*gasp* the queen! T-They're-…" Starlight said, completely out of breath. Ryder walked up to his girlfriend, patting her on the back as Amy handed her a bottle of water. Starlight took deep breathes, standing up straight wiping sweat off of her head. "The castle was raided…and they wanted the king and queen. I was able to hold off the robots for a while, but in the end, I could only protect the king…I-It was that Eggman! He's taken the queen. I-I'm so sorry, Princess Sally," Starlight explained, "b-but those robots, they were so dangerous; they had lasers and guns a-and-…"

"It's okay, Starlight, don't stress yourself out. It's…unhealthy," Sally replied. She rubbed her face, sighing. "This entire attack was a distraction so that Eggman could kidnap my parents and hold them hostage. Luckily Starlight was able to protect my father, but, he's probably worried sick about my mom," she continued. There was a sudden increase in wind, and everyone looked up to the sky, spotting Eggman's aircraft after it's camo cut off.

"Ho ho ho, what fools you are!" the evil voice echoed out from the aircraft on a speaker. This caught everyone's attention, the aircraft stopping as a holographic image appeared on the ground. "Now, listen closely. Surrender the royal treasure now, or the queen will suffer," Eggman said. Behind him, the queen was strapped to a chair at gunpoint, her head hanging low. Sally gasped, stumbling backwards as Sonic caught her. It looked as if she were about to burst into tears. "You guys have exactly one hour to get here onto the aircraft with the treasure," the villain finished. The hologram cut off, and the citizens began to murmur in worry.

"M-Mom…Oh god…" Sally said, covering her face. Am grabbed her arm softly, handing the princess a tissue.

"Don't worry, Sally. We're gonna get your mom back, and we won't even have to give up the treasure," Sonic said comfortingly.

"We won't?" Cameron questioned.

"Of course not! After all, we're the new and improved Freedom Fighters. But, Sally, you should head back to the castle and see how your dad is doing. The rest of us will get on that aircraft and save the queen," Sonic said. Sally didn't say anything at first, but then nodded her head and made her way north and back to the castle, Naomi following behind her to make sure she made it back okay.

"So, how exactly do you expect us to get up there?" Nikki asked.

"We could take the X-Tornado. Of course, some of you would have to ride on the wings, since the plane only has three seats, one already being occupied by me," Tails replied. Everyone looked at each other for a few seconds.

"Well, Amy and I will stay on the ground and help out the citizens. I-I mean, that's if you want to, Amy," Cameron suggested.

"Sure, I can do that," she replied.

"So that leaves me, Sonic, Nikki, Starlight, Ryder, and Aria. Hmm…That's still a bit much to fit on the X-Tornado. Anyone else mind not staying back?" Tails asked.

"Ryder and I will help clean up all the robot parts," Starlight said. Ryder wanted to protest, but decided to just go along with what his girlfriend said.

"Well," Sonic said, "I guess it's time to go save a queen; Let's go!"


	6. To Save a Queen

Tails guided the X-Tornado professionally through the sky, Aria sitting behind him and Sonic and Nikki standing on each wing. Eggman's aircraft emerged from the puffy, white clouds, polluting the air with grey smog as it floated along. Tails flew around the aircraft, looking around.

"There's no place for me to land; I'll have to drop you guys off for now," Tails said. He flew towards what appeared to be the entrance to the aircraft, Sonic, Nikki, and Aria jumping off of the X-Tornado. Tails circled back around, leaving the three hedgehogs to face off against Eggman themselves.

Sonic peered into the aircraft, and it appeared to be empty at first. Then, he heard the voice of Queen Alicia speaking to Eggman, arguing with him.

"And do you really think the Freedom Fighters are dumb enough to bring the royal scepter to you? They are going to save me and you'll be left empty handed, you just watch Eggman," the queen said, her voice full of confidence. The three heroes walked quietly down the hall, looking into the main room. In the center, Queen Alicia was tied to a chair, her arms and legs wrapped tightly with duct tape. There was a swatbot on each side of her, and Eggman was looking down at the control panels for the aircraft, the city of Mobotropolis below them.

"Well, they're running out of time. You're only a short ten minutes away from becoming my robot minion," Eggman replied.

"Robot…minion?" the queen questioned.

"I've decided not to shoot you, but instead use you as a test subject for my new roboticizer. You'd be a very beautiful addition to my robians," Eggman replied.

"I don't think so, Egghead!" Sonic shouted, stepping into the room. Nikki and Aria were standing behind him in their fighting positions. Though the queen could not see them, she already knew that the heroes were there to save the day. Eggman turned around and faced the three hedgehogs, grinning.

"Ah, what excellent timing! I was just about to roboticize the queen, but I assume you've brought what I've requested?" Eggman asked.

Nikki stepped up, her hands surrounded with flames. "The only thing you'll be getting is the beatdown of a lifetime, Eggman!" she threatened.

Eggman, however, did not seem threatened at all. Instead, he pulled out a remote control, pressing a big red button in the center of it. A loud beeping noise went off, holes In the wall opening as dozens of swatbots poured into the room. The three hedgehogs put their backs towards each other, looking around.

"I'll untie the queen; you guys distract the metal heads," Aria said. She ran from the circle, approaching the queen as one of the swatbots aimed an arm laser at her. Sonic quickly jumped in, spindashing the robot and destroying it. But it seemed as if when one was destroyed, only more started to appear. Slowly, it seemed as if they were being outnumbered.

Sonic looked at his communication watch, Tails appearing on the screen. "Tails, we need you to fly around near the front and pick us up. We can't fend off against these robots for long," he said. Tails nodded, and Sonic had to immediately turn away as another swatbot fired a laser at him.

In the center of the room, Aria was nearly finished helping the queen, vigorously cutting at the ropes which held Alicia to the chair. "Almost there…" the hedgehog said under her breath. There was then a ripping sound, Queen Alicia jumping up from her chair and bending her wrist.

"Thank you, Aria," the queen said, but it wasn't over yet. Swatbots were still attacking, beams of energy shooting everywhere as they attempted to take out Sonic and Nikki.

Eggman looked at Alicia and Aria, aiming the remote control at them. "Not so fast!" he shouted. Clicking the red button once more on the remote, his swatbots suddenly redirected to the two on the other side of the room, completely ignoring Sonic and Nikki. One of the robots opened fire on them, Aria quickly grabbing the queen's hand and ducking to the left. The two of them then began to run, exiting the room as Sonic and Nikki tried to cover them.

"Let's go!" Sonic said. Nikki looked at him, nodding as the two of them ran out of the room, dozens of swatbots following behind them, and quickly.

Everything was rushing by so fast as everyone rushed down the hallway, heading for the outside of the ship. Alarms were blaring, red lights flashing on and off as the door to the exit slowly began top close.

A small gasp left from Aria's mouth, still holding firmly onto the queen's hand as they continued to run. "Guys, we're gonna have to jump!" she yelled over the loud sirens.

Everyone looked at the green hedgehog as if she were crazy, but she was actually right. If they stopped now, they'd be locked in and shot on the spot, and there were way to many swatbots to fight off at this point. They all gave a nod of agreement.

The door was almost closed, the swatbots desperately shooting their lasers as everyone ran out of the door, Mobotropolis over three hundred feet below them. They all let out their own scream as they jumped out of Eggman's aircraft, the metals door repelling all of the swatbot's laser shots as they fell desperately, hoping for a miracle.

Then, it appeared. Swooping in from the east of the ship was Tails in the X-Tornado, flying the plane as fast as he could to save everyone. Aria let go of the queen's hand as the plane flew by, allowing Alicia to grab onto the side of the plane and get into the seat. Tails then quickly flew the plane in a 360direction, now trying to save the three hedgehogs, but he was running out of time, as they were getting very close to a body of water below, and quickly.

Nikki surrounded herself in fire, using the flames in an attempt to propel herself towards the X-Tornado. It did in fact give her a small boost, enabling her to barely grab onto the right wing of the plane. At this point, they were only about one hundred feet above sea level, and Tails had to act quick. The X-Tornado turned around once more, flying quickly towards Sonic and Aria as they prepared themselves.

Sonic began spinning at a fast pace, turning into his ball form and pushing himself forward. He tried to reach out for Aria and help her once he was close enough to grab onto the other wing of the X-Tornado, but that was when Eggman's ship released attack drones, which began shooting at the plane. Panicking, Tails swerved the plane in order to avoid the bullets, Sonic losing his balance and desperately clinging to the left wing.

"Ariana!" he shouted, trying to reach out his arm to save her. But it was impossible, as she was now too far away and they were too close to the water to both save Aria and dodge the drones' attacks. Holding onto the wing with her left hand, Nikki shot a fireball with her right hand, barely hitting as the drone tried to cloak itself.

Fifty feet about sea level, Aria was now desperately falling, knowing in her head that she wasn't going to be able to survive the fall. She closed her eyes, positioning her body as she became closer to coming in contact with the water. Fourty…thirty…twenty.

Sonic crouched down on the wing of the X-Tornado, charging up his homing attack as he jumped while spinning in an extremely fast motion, hitting one drone after another as they each exploded in the air, Tails catching him after all drones were destroyed. Below them, they heard a loud splashing noise, the X-Tornado barely coming in contact with the water as everyone on board was splashed with water. They knew what had happened.

"Aria?! Aria?!" everyone shouted, trying to see through the water. Nikki squinted, and then suddenly gasped, her eyes widening. Taking in a deep breath, she jumped off of the X-Tornado, diving into the water head first. Sinking slowly to the bottom was Aria, her arms floating above her and mouth slightly opened. The impact from jumping so high up had knocked her out, her body clearly bruised.

Nikki reached her arms out, grabbing Ariana by her waist. She was not panicking, using her right arm to push the water back and reach up to the surface. As soon as she heard the water leave from her ears, she took a deep, quick breath, looking for the X-Tornado. Her eyes were blurry, trying to pull Aria up as well to make sure no more water entered her body. For a moment, she went back below the surface, but the felt something on her arm. Nikki found herself quickly above the water again, Sonic pulling her onto the wing, having to lift both her and Aria's weight.

Swiftly, Queen Alicia pitched in, grabbing Aria and helping with the weight of the two girls. Tails slowly lifted the plane up, Nikki and Aria hanging off the side, the pyrokinetic making sure not to let go of the other girl. Using up all her energy, she pulled herself onto the wing, Sonic jumping onto the other side to make sure the X-Tornado didn't tip over. Nikki was breathing heavily, clasping to the plane. She looked over at Aria, who did not move at all, before passing out in exhaustion.

For Aria, everything was black. It seemed like she heard the feint sound of waves, as if she were still underwater. When everything came into view, she was sitting at the bottom of the ocean, but for some reason she could breath. However, her entire body was weak for some reason, but she still managed to stand up. She took one step, and then another. Her mind was telling her to explore and find out what was happening, until she hit a glass wall, stumbling back and grunting.

In the glass was her reflection, but this version of her looked as if she had been crying. She was badly bruised, and her clothes were ripped and torn. Then, in the reflection, it looked as if someone were approaching behind her, the reflection Aria going wide-eyed and gasping. Once coming into the light, it looked like it was a robot Sonic, and the girl in the reflection screamed as the robot lifted its metallic claws. Aria jerked her head back, seeing the robot for herself and screaming.

Suddenly, Aria shot up, sweating rushing down her face. She was in a pair of pajamas, and she felt bandages wrapped around her stomach and left arm. Sitting next to her was Princess Sally, who was holding a cold rag. The hedgehog was still taking heavy breaths, as if she were just about to have a heart attack.

Sally sweetly hushed her, pushing Aria slowly back down on the bed and placing the cold rag on her. Thankfully, it seemed to soothe the injured hero, as her breathing calmed. "It's okay, Aria, you're safe," the princess said softly. She took Aria's temperature, sighing in relief. "Looks like your fever is going down: 101.1°F. I mean, that number may not sound all that great, but it was much higher earlier," Sally explained. She smiled, sitting the thermometer to the side.

"W-Where's Nikki?" Aria asked weakly. Her breathing was still a little weak, and it required a lot of air for her to speak.

"Nikki is fine; she saved you when you fell in the water and is just a bit tired, but nothing extremely terrible has happened. Sonic told me everything that went down, and I'm sorry you had to experience that…" Sally replied. Everything was silent for a few moments, before Sally stood up and walked towards the door. "Hey, if you need anything, let me know. The butler will be checking on you every so often until you feel better," she said. Then, the princess opened the door, walked out, and shut it again.

Aria sighed, placing her hand on the cold rag. She had almost died, and to top it off, was almost scared to death by a nightmare. All of the robots, and the mention of roboticization, had gotten to her. What if that really did happen? What if she was unable to help her teammates on the field, and possibly get one of them reboticized? She decided not to think about it too much, and focus more on recovering. Reaching over to a book on the dresser to her left, she picked it up and began to read about the History of Mobotropolis.


	7. Training Day 1

The next morning, Aria was feeling much better after what had happened. Sally was frequently checking on her, even though the butler was doing that anyhow. Still, the princess was very kind to Aria, and seemed to make the recovery go by very quickly.

Aria yawned, leaning up from her pillow and stretching. She was currently in a pair of pajamas that Sally had loaned to her, and boy, were they comfortable. Aria stood off of the bed, looking outside. Everything seemed to be going smoothly in Mobotropolis, and there were no signs of trouble in the area. Smiling, Aria walked towards the door and opened it, the smell of breakfast filling the air. Quickly, she ran down the stairs and went into the dining area.

Once downstairs, she saw her group of friends sitting at the table, getting to know each other better and talking about their daily lives. Naomi was in the kitchen helping with the food, since she loved to cook and wanted to make it extra special for the success of saving the queen. Even Sally was pitching in, making homemade blueberry muffins like how her grandmother taught her.

When Aria came into view, everyone stopped talking and looked at her. They greeted her kindly, inviting the girl to sit at the table with them. She didn't say anything at first, shyly taking a seat in between Sonic and Nikki.

"Are you feeling okay?" Nikki asked, placing her hand on Aria's shoulder.

Aria nodded, looking at the grey and red hedgehog. "I'm feeling much better, thank you. Prin- I mean, Sally, really helped me in my recovery; and all of the flowers and cards I received made me feel a lot better too," she replied, giggling. Then, Naomi, Sally, as well as a few of the chefs brought in their breakfast food, sitting the platters down in a long line down the dining table. There were pancakes, waffles, bacon, sausage, grits, eggs, muffins, even hot chocolate!

Everyone took in a deep breath, taken away by the smell of the delicious foods. The kind and queen then entered the dining area, taking their seats at the front of the table next to each other. Sally sat next to her parents, while Naomi sat between Starlight and Cameron, across from Nikki. Everything went silent for a few seconds, the king filling his cup with orange juice, raising it in the air.

"To the Freedom Fighters and their success in protecting our beloved queen and the city," he cheered. Everyone else raised up their mugs of orange juice and hot chocolate, cheering.

"TO THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS!"

After the cheers, everyone began to pass around the different platters of food, putting a little of everything on their plates. At first, Aria only grabbed a muffin, sitting silently as the rest of the food got passed around. The queen noticed this, catching Aria's attention.

"Don't be shy dear, eat as much as you like! If you don't get your carbs and proteins, you won't grow to be strong," she said sweetly. Aria looked around at the table. Everyone's plates seemed to be full of food- even Tails had at least three pancakes on his plate! Sonic reached near his side of the table and handed Aria a platter with two pancakes on it, which she picked up with her fork. After pouring some syrup on them, she began eating right away. At first, she didn't even notice how fast she was eating, finishing all the foods on her plate in only a minute or two.

Then, out of nowhere, Aria belched after finishing her hot chocolate, and the room went silent. She quickly covered her mouth, blush. "E-Excuse me," she said politely. Everyone laughed, Sonic letting out a burp of his own, and then everyone started to do it, even the king and queen!

Soon, everyone was done with their breakfast, and the maids began to clean up. Sonic's eyes were closed as he leaned back in his chair, sighing happily after eating the delicious meal. Everyone was full, and it was clear that they would have to train it off.

"Alright everyone, get washed up and put on your clothes! Today, we'll be in the training garden behind the castle," Sally announced, standing up from her chair and pushing it in. Everyone did the same, walking out of the dining area. "Also, boy use the bathrooms down here, girls use the bathrooms upstairs," she added, seeing that Cameron was trying to follow them. She eyed him, the male chuckling and quickly stepping back.

Nikki went into the room she shared with Starlight and went into her duffle bag, searching for her workout outfit when she saw her small device blinking with a red light. When she opened it, there was an empty battery on the screen, telling her that the device was about to die.

"P-Powering…dooownnnn," Yumi's voice said, fading away as the scree flashed to black. Nikki gasped, sitting Yumi's device beside her and rummaging through her bag for the charger. Unfortunately, there was no luck, and she did not remember picking up the charger before she left her home that morning. The girl said, picking up the device and starring at it with dismay. She stood up and went into Sally's bathroom, and the princess was brushing her teeth.

"S-Sally?" Nikki said politely, catching the girls attention.

"Mm-hmm?" Sally mumbled back, toothpaste still in her mouth. She leaned over the sink and spit it out, running the water and washing her face off. She then began brushing her hair, looking towards Nikki. "Is something wrong?" she question.

"Well, you see, I have this little device," Nikki starting, pulling out the system from behind her back and showing it to Sally," she's a portable music rhythm game, but, she also has a setting to just sing music. I never really played the game…A-Anyway, I accidentally left it turned on, and now the battery is dead. You wouldn't happen to have a charger that may fit, would you?" she asked.

Sally hummed, placing her fingers on her chin and thinking. "Well, I'm not exactly sure. However, I do know someone who could help. Follow me," she replied, walking out the bathroom. Nikki walked right behind the chipmunk, going into her room.

Of course, the princess's room looked better than the guest rooms. She had a brown and white canopy bed against the wall, a glass tray lamp on one side and an end table on the other. In the corner of her room was a work area. She had a bookshelf, a bean bag, and a computer desk which was scattered with papers. Sally approached her computer desk, picking up a mini computer which was plugged into it.

"This is Nicole, a computer given to me by an old friend of mine," Sally explained. She pressed a button on the small computer, and it powered on. A few seconds later, a beam of light appeared before them, pixels swirling in the room as a figure began to form. Once the pixels disappeared, a female lynx appeared before them. A few portions of her body had pixels on them, but for the most part, she looked entirely real.

The lynx held out her hand to Nikki, smiling. "Nice to meet you," she said. Even her voice sounded completely natural! Nikki was amazed, not knowing what to do. She stared at Nicole's hand, poking it. To her surprise, Nicole was also fully solid, not like a regular hologram in which you could just put your hand through their body. Nicole looked at Nikki in confusion.

"I'm…Nikki," the hedgehog finally replied, grabbing Nicole's hand and shaking it.

"Alright Nicole, I need a favor. I need you to look through my cabinets over there and see if you can find a charger that'll fit this," Sally said, handing over Yumi to the holo-lynx. Nicole examined the charged port, sighing.

"Well, it's gonna take forever, but you can count on me!" she replied. Nikki thanked her, quickly walking back out of the room to put her clothes on. Sally picked up her ring-blades from off of her dresser, attaching them to her wrist and testing them out. For a quick second, two double edged blue blades were generated from the rings, quickly going away at Sally's command. Once the two girls were ready, they hurried downstairs to where the others were waiting.

"Mom, dad! We're heading out!" Sally shouted into her parents' work room.

"Alright, don't get too reckless!" the king shouted back.

The young heroes then went past the flight of stairs and through a through a clear sliding door, finding themselves back outside. They were now in the Garden of Magnolia, which was used when anyone in the castle needed a place to de-stress themselves. There were pillars surrounding the garden, the white magnolia flowers planted around them. The main floor was made of marble, and in the distance you could see the green hills getting smaller the farther they got.

Nikki stepped into the center of the arena, stretching. "So, who's up?" she asked with confidence. Her new apparel, a grey spaghetti strap shirt and black spandex workout shorts, showed that she was ready for a fight.

Cameron stepped across from Nikki. "I'll take you on, pyro girl," he said, snickering. Nikki gritted her teeth, knowing that he'd done this on purpose to have an advantage with his hydrokinesis. However, she didn't let this lower her confidence. The female hedgehog then removed her gloves and ring bracelets, putting her red hair into a ponytail. Her hands elite with flames, and it looked as if she were charging up.

The male on the other side smirked, raising his hands quickly as two orbs of water formed on each side of him. He shot them forward like missiles, the lines of water targeting Nikki at extreme speed. Still, the female stood there, her bare hands completely surrounded with fire as the area around her started to heat up. She let out a yell, shooting a large fireball forward in a straight line. The two different compounds came in contact with each other, exploding on impact and leaving a huge smoke cloud.

At first, Cameron thought that he was winning, but when the smoke cleared, Nikki was still standing in the same spot, unscathed. He gasped, collecting more water with his hands and sending a barrage of the hydro missiles at Nikki. The pyrokinetic jumped and slid from side to side, dodging every single attack with ease. She then jumped high into the air, her fist surrounded with large flames as she dived back onto the ground like a bullet. Cameron stumbled backwards, barely dodging the attack as he recklessly shot off another water projectile.

"Is that all you've got, hydro boy?!" Nikki teased. The others watched the battle from the bench, interested to see where this was going. However, Starlight looked concerned, watching Nikki's every move closely.

"This may get dangerous…" she whispered to Sally. The chipmunk looked at her in confusion.

"How?" she questioned.

Starlight sighed, looking back towards the battle. Nikki was chasing Cameron around the arena, shooting fireball after fireball. She showed no mercy at all, and actually looked a bit annoying. "Stop running and fight me!" she shouted. Her fireballs suddenly increased in size as she shot one at the ground, and explosion going off. Cameron flew to the other side of the arena, laying on the ground and grabbing at his stomach. He looked up at Nikki in desperation, shooting a water pistol at Nikki and hitting her in the face. The girl's head jerked back from the impact.

"Whenever she removes those rings from around her wrist, her powers are no longer contained. Those pyrokinetics aren't natural; she obtained them as a child. The king and queen of Arcadia gave those rings to her so that her flames wouldn't get too intense," Starlight explained, "She rarely takes them off when fighting, but with Cameron having an advantage over her, she had no choice.

When Nikki looked back up from being hit, blood trickled from her mouth. She wiped it off with her arm, her hair now a complete mess. She stepped towards Cameron, her right hand burning fiercely as she got closer to Cameron. She was growling under her breath. "You're gonna regret that," she said in a low tone. Suddenly, the flame surrounding her hand was huge as she lunged towards the boy. However, her attack was stopped as suddenly a pink bubble surrounded her, and she was unable to use her pyrokinesis to break out.

From the door of the gardens stood Naomi, holding her wand and pointing it in Nikki's direction. It was glowing with a pink hue, and making a noise as Naomi raised it, the bubble surround Nikki coming towards it.

"Please calm down, Nikki. This is why you never fully use the power of your flames," Naomi said with concern. She picked up Nikki's gloves and released the girl from the bubble as it made a popping noise and exploded. Nikki was taking deep breaths, completely drained out of energy as Naomi placed the gloves on her hands, the rings attached to them. Cameron stood up, his hand still clenched to his stomach as he supported himself with the pillars. Amy walked over to him and helped.

Sonic stood up, looking at the two fighters back to back. "I think Nikki won that one," he stated. Cameron looked at him in annoyance and rolled his eyes, but did not say anything.

All of a sudden, there was a high pitched sound that rung out from inside the castle, a light flashing from Sally's bedroom window. No one said anything, everyone rushing inside. They ran upstairs, Sally in the front as she swung her bedroom door open. Everyone looked inside, and what they saw all gave them a shock.

On the floor was a girl, completely knocked out. Nicole was kneeling by her side, nudging her in desperation. Sally quickly walked over to her, examining the girl laying on the floor. She appeared to be a panda, with black and blue fur.

"What in the heck happened?!" Sally questioned, helping lift the girl onto her bed. She then walked over to her computer, Nikki walking inside the room and looking at the panda with concern.

"Well I…uh, might've, sorta…used your last red ring on that device you gave me," Nicole replied.

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Sally said in disbelief. She found the empty chest on her dresser, then looked at Nicole. "Do you know how difficult it is to get those? What the hell were you thinking?" she scolded, looking at her computer friend

Before Nicole could respond, the panda girl began glowing, and everything went silent. The group surrounded Sally's bed, looking down at her. Slowly, the panda opened her eyes, and they glowed for a few seconds before setting down. They began to move, no one saying anything.

"Y-Yumi?" Nikki questioned in disbelief. The girl on the bed blinked a few times, before smiling and throwing her body upward. She wrapped her arms around Nikki, giggling.

"Nikki-Chaaan!" Yumi cheered, her voice glitching heavily, "I'm finally here with you; together at last after all this time. W-Were you surprised?" she asked, holding Nikki's hands in glee. Her robot-like voice was very displeasing to everyone, but no one mentioned it. The panda girl looked around at everyone, her face now filled with confusion. "Ah, my voice needs to be tuned," she said.

Sally looked over on her desk, picking up Yumi's console and handing it to Nikki. The hedgehog then went into the settings and pushed a few buttons.

"Alright, now speak," Nikki commanded. Yumi sang a few notes, and now sounded like an actual Mobian. She leaped off of the bed and spun around, but tripped over her feet and fell. However, she did not seem upset, and actually laughed.

Sonic and Amy helped the girl up, and was able to stand on her own easily by looking at the others.

"Y'know, you don't look too bad for a program," Sonic complimented. Amy hit him on the shoulder, scoffing.

"Well, I'm Amy, and that's Sonic," Amy introduced. Cameron and Ryder introduced themselves as well, followed by Sally and Nicole. Nikki didn't bother to introduce herself, since she was pretty much Yumi's "owner".

Once again, Yumi's eyes began to glow and then stopped. "Memorization complete," she said.

Sally sighed. "Well, the red ring did charge her, but it also gave her a holographic form similar to Nicole. Not that it's an bad thing other than the fact I lost my last red ring. Yumi, you will start training with us starting today," the princess said, "We will teach you between good and bad, and train you to help support the Freedom Fighters. Understood?" Sally questioned. Yumi nodded.

"Freedom Fighter Yumi, ready to take out the bad guys!" she cheered.


	8. Training Day 2

Everyone was now back in the Garden of Magnolia, sitting in the center of the marble floors and enjoying their lunch. Naomi had went out to the marketplace in Mobotropolis and brought back ingredients to make turkey sandwiches and chocolate shakes. Nicole sat with her legs crossed, organizing a small stack of papers with Yumi sitting next to her, who was humming a song from a popular show Nikki watched.

"Alright," Nicole said, turning to Yumi. She held up a picture of King Max and Queen Alicia in front of the panda, "Good or bad?"

Yumi examined the photo for a second, analyzing who the people were by leaning forward and getting a closer look. Her face was serious, until she finally leaned back and smiled. "Definitely good," she answered. Nicole smiled, putting the picture to the side and picking up a picture of Eggman.

"Good or bad?" the lynx asked.

"Bad! Really, really bad!" Yumi immediately responded. Nicole put the picture down, and the panda girl groaned in boredom. "We've gone over these so many times, Nicole, and the picture of the king and queen were the only new things you added to the pile. I know the difference between good and bad at this point," Yumi said with confidence, "Everyone here is good, and the robots are bad!"

Nicole raised her eyebrow, and the held up a picture of a Robian. "Good or bad?" she questioned.

Yumi had never seen this picture, and attempted to scan it. For some reason, she couldn't exactly process whether this certain example was good or bad. It had the look of a Mobian dog, but their skin was metallic like a robot. She brought her hand to her head and groaned in pain, shutting her eyes tightly and looking down. "I-I don't know!" she answered in frustration.

The others were about done with their lunch, looking at the two artificial Mobians. Nicole looked back at them, then at Yumi.

"Technically speaking, they're bad. At one point, though, they were good and innocent. These roboticized Mobians work for Eggman now, and you can't show mercy when you're out on the field ad fighting these guys. Just remember that you don't have to destroy them, but rather just knock them out. Understand?" Nicole said. Yumi nodded, and that's when Nikki stood up and grabbed everyone's plates off of the ground.

Amy pitched in, getting all of the glasses as she followed the grey ad red hedgehog back inside. Nicole stood up, reaching her hand out to Yumi and helping the girl stand up as well. However, Yumi did not let go when she gained balance on the ground, looking at the lynx with concern. "Do you…really think I can help fight against the Eggman empire?" she asked.

Nicole smiled, the two of them walking back inside. "I know you can," she replied, "Just believe in yourself and everything will be fine."

Just then, Naomi motioned everyone into the meeting room, the heroes stopping what they were doing and walking into the other room. In there, the flat screen at the front of the room showed a flat map of Mobius, red dots flashing on certain parts of the world.

"This is bad…" the king said, who was standing and looking at the screen, "We've received reports of attacks in Spagonia; blasted Eggman must've sent one of his swatbots and robian under someone else's lead. Now we've got two problems to deal with."

"Megapolis isn't too far from here; only a few zones away. However, the citizens there probably have no proper training, and would easily get captured by Eggman's troops. And if that happens, more innocent Mobians will become a part of the enemy team," Sally said.

"Why don't we just go down there then?" Sonic questioned, "I'll give those scraps of metal a taste of their own medicine."

Starlight shook her head. "If we all go down there, then Eggman will be free to attack Mobotropolis again. There's no way we can let that happen."

Then, everyone began to talk over each other with their different opinions of the situation, until Aria walked to the front of the room. "Okay!" she shouted loud enough to get everyone's attention. "I have an idea. Starlight, Ryder, Amy, Cameron, and I will go to Megapolis. Sonic, Nikki, Naomi, Sally, Nicole, and Tails will stay here in Mobotropolis," she announced, pointing to everyone accordingly.

At first, no one spoke. Then, they all agreed to Naomi's plan.

"Then it's official. All Freedom Fighters traveling to Megapolis must get ready immediately. If we wait too long, there will be no chance of overpowering all of those robians and swatbots. I'm sure there will be some Mobians there to aid you in battle, so do not worry," King Max announced.

"And if you guys have any trouble, I'll be down there in a supersonic second," Sonic said. This statement itself made the traveling heroes feel a bit better about the mission, but they still had some worries about leaving Mobotropolis. However, they did not say anything.

Then, everyone slowly made their way out of the meeting room, preparing for the journey. Nikki caught up with Starlight, watching the girl fill up a small backpack with the things she would need on the mission: Clothes, medicine, water, money, you name it.

"You sure you'll be okay?" Nikki asked with concern. Starlight didn't look up, stuffing her bag until it couldn't hold anything else.

Starlight stood up, swinging the backpack over her shoulders and looking at Nikki, who'd been leaning on the wall and watching her. "Of course. Besides, Ryder will be there with me," Starlight said, making her way for the door. She didn't sound very confident saying that, and honestly didn't look very confident either. She was gripping at the straps of her backpack tightly, quickly walking down the stairs in order to avoid any more questioning.

Another fifteen minutes passed, and the sky began to turn orange as Ariana, Amy, Starlight, Ryder, and Cameron gathered in the entrance of the castle. At the last minute, Amy ran up to Sonic and hugged him, the blue hedgehog chuckling in embarrassment.

"That's for good luck. Don't get too reckless, Sonicku," the pink hedgehog said, "Also, I'll be sure to call you every single day I'm gone. And-…"

"Aaaaamy," Sonic groaned, breaking away from the girl's grasp. Amy chuckled, moving her bangs from in front of her face and blushing. She walked back with her group, and everyone waved as they walked along the dirt road. The ones staying stood and waved, Aria looking back one last time, specifically at Sonic. His smile made her feel warm inside, and she gave it her all to push forward and fight.

Early the next morning, Nikki had woken up and left the castle before anyone else had waken. She began wandering around the grassy hills between the castle and Mobotropolis City. She couldn't keep her mind off of her friends, and soon was no longer paying attention to reality as her feet guided her body towards the Great Forest. Soon, the dirt path turned to just grass as she walked slowly around every tree.

Sunlight then began to pour through the leaves of the strong, tall trees. The forest animals began to awake, not really paying attention to the girl who was wandering around. Small bears, pigs, chickens, and many other species scattered across the ground, blue birds flying around and searching for food.

Nikki sat down on a nearby log, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. She was stressing this far too much. All of the heroes they sent were great fighters and strategist. But then she started to remember the bad things, like when Starlight couldn't defend the queen from Eggman's robots, defeating Cameron, and how Aria almost died on their first mission. All of these memories started to give her a headache, until she heard leaves rumble behind her. Nikki shot up, her fist ignited with flames as she prepared to shoot a fireball. Then, she recognized the blue hedgehog that was standing behind her, cancelling her attack as he held his hands in front of him.

"Did I scare ya?" Sonic teased, chuckling as the pyrokinetic let her guard down and sighed in annoyance. Her hands were once again normal as she looked at Sonic, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes.

"You could've said something. A 'hey' or 'sup' would've been okay," she replied, sitting back down on the log. Sonic sat next to her, leaning on his legs and crossing her arms.

The two hedgehogs were quiet, and they were able to hear the birds chirping and animals chatting amongst themselves. "They're going to be fine," Sonic finally said. Nikki looked at the blue hedgehog, surprised that he was able to tell that she was worried about everyone. She sniffled, leaning on Sonic's shoulder and trying to hold back her tears.

"All of this is scary," Nikki finally admitted, "I've never been involved in something as serious as this in my life. My friends are putting themselves in danger; I'm putting myself in danger. What if something were to happen?" she said, "How could I consider myself a hero if someone got roboticized and I had to fight them? My allies?!

Sonic wrapped his arm around Nikki's shoulders, allowing her to cry for a minute. "Y'know, I've asked myself something similar to that several times I the past. Heck, I sometimes think that to this day. When I was just a kid, I lost my father, and he was a freedom fighter, just like us," Sonic said. Nikki looked up at him, wiping her eyes.

"R-Really?"

"Yeah. He was King Max's best friend; knew him even before his wife, Queen Alicia, joined the group. Those two, heh, they were like an unbeatable duo. Even when King Max took over and got married, him and my dad still fought," Sonic explained, remembering the times that him and Sally were just kids, hanging out in the castle while their parents fought against Dr. Robotnik.

Nikki smiled, thinking of how cool it must've been to have a dad as cool as that. She never really got to know her dad, as he was an adventurer and always traveled. Then one day, he disappeared, leaving Nikki and her mother without a trace. But when her mom began working for the royal family of Arcadia, she forgot all about the incident and considered them family.

"But one day, he never returned," Sonic continued, his voice monotone as he recalled the event, "He wanted to end the war, so he went onto Robotnik's aircraft and made the entire thing self-destruct."

"I-I'm so sorry…" Nikki said softly. But Sonic wasn't upset; he was actually smiling.

"Heh, my father's death only pushes me forward to be the best hero I can be, and do anything for my allies," Sonic replied. Nikki lifted her head, and managed to form a smile on her face as well. The two of them stood up, looking at the sun rise into the sky.

Finally, Nikki was no longer stressed, and began to make her way back to the castle. "You coming?" she asked Sonic, looking behind her. Sonic nodded, catching up and walking along with the girl as they exited the forest together.

Once they made it back to the castle, everyone was already awake and moving around. Sally and her parents were talking at the dining table while Naomi was in the meeting hall writing something. They walked into the dining area, greeting the royal family.

"Where'd you run off too, Nikki?" Sally asked.

"I just took a stroll in the Great Forest, got some fresh air. Sonic managed to find me along the way and decided to tag along. I'm guess I missed breakfast, huh?" Nikki replied.

Sally looked around at the table, chuckling awkwardly. All of the plates were clean, and not a single scrap of food was left over. "Yeah, I'm so sorry about that. Since so many people had left the castle, I guess the chefs didn't think to make much food… If you want, we can go out and get something," Sally offered.

Before Nikki could respond, Sonic quickly stepped in. "Don't worry Nikki, I know this lady in Mobotropolis that makes the best baked goods in the town, and she loves me so much, I can get stuff for free. I'll be back in a flash!" he said. And like that, he was gone out the door in a cloud of dust.

The girls giggled, and the king and queen excused themselves from the table and left. Nikki sat down across from Sally, taking out her phone and checking her text messages. No one on the Megapolis Mission had messaged her yet, and once again, she began to worry a bit.

"So, do you wanna do anything today?" Sally asked. Nikki didn't look away from her phone, humming.

"I dunno, maybe some training or something…" Nikki said, unable to think. She started to send a text to Starlight, her fingers rapidly tapping on the screen and typing in letters. It read the following:

 _"Yo, Star, hope you and the others made it to Megapolis safely. Be sure to fight smartly, and don't be too reckless, okay?"_

Nikki then sent the text, sighing. Sally looked at her with concern.

"No way, no more training. I mean, we should have a little fun. Nicole is still teaching Yumi, Naomi is busy with her report or whatever, and Sonic-…" Sally said, but was cut off when the blue blur himself came bursting back through the door, holding a small paper bag.

"I didn't take too long, did I?" he asked, sitting down at the table. He put his hand into the paper bag and pulled out two jelly-filled croissants. Nikki gasped in amazement as she grabbed the treat from Sonic's hand, biting down on one end of the croissant. She hummed happily, jelly stuck on the side of her mouth as she wiped it away with her arm.

Sonic then took a bite of his croissant, looking at Sally and offering her a piece of his. She quickly turned down the offer, waving her hand and pushing the food away. Sonic shrugged, taking another bite of his breakfast.

It was silent for a few moments, until Sally finally broke it. "What do you do in your spare time, Sonic?" Sally questioned, leaning on her arm and looking at the male. He was still chewing his food, thinking about what his response would be. He licked the tips of his fingers, then smiled.

"I'd think you already knew the answer to that, Sally," the hedgehog said, laughing. Sally rolled her eyes, and Sonic finished up his croissant. "But really, I doubt you guys would enjoy what I do in my spare time," he finished.

Nikki crossed her arms and leaned forward across the table, coming face-to-face with Sonic. "Try me, blue blur," she said, smirking. Sonic smirked back, leaning closer to her.

"I plan to," he replied. Sonic then stood up from his chair, walking towards the door.

"You guys have only know each other for a few days and you're already acting like siblings…" she said, placing her hand to her forehead and shaking it slowly. The two hedgehogs did not comment on the princess's remark, following each other out of the door. Sally sighed, following behind them.


	9. The Echidna's Spirit

Nikki began to breath heavily, leaning down and placing her hands on her knees. Her and Sonic had been racing for a while, Sally trailing behind them in an attempt to keep up. Sonic stopped, looking back at the other hedgehog and smirking.

"Don't stop now, Nikki! We're here!" Sonic yelled, trying to encourage the girl. Nikki looked up at him in annoyance, sweat dripping down the side of her face as she stood back up. Sally walked up and approached Nikki, reaching into her blue backpack and pulling out a 16 ounce bottle of water, handing it to her friend. Quickly, Nikki grabbed the bottle of water and began chugging it, almost choking as she began to cough. Sally laughed, shaking her head.

"This is why you never race the blue blur and then think you're going to win," Sally said, the two girls walking together the rest of the way.

The hedgehog sighed, and was wheezing a bit every time she took a breath. She tilted her head back as she finished the last bit of water, handing it back to Sally as the chipmunk put the empty bottle back in her bag. They found themselves at the top of a huge crater in the earth, looking down at a bunch of dirt and rocks. It was nothing like the forest they were just in to get here.

Nikki looked around at the 50 foot deep crater, then at Sonic with a confused expression. "So, why are we here?" she questioned, "Don't tell me you go down there just to run laps all day."

Sonic shook his head, and then pointed upwards. Nikki raised her eyebrow, but look up anyway. Suddenly, she lost her breath. Floating above the crater was a floating island, and she was surprised she hadn't seen it on her own. It was absolutely beautiful, and you could see lots of greenery and waterfalls looking down from the ground.

"Pretty sweet, huh? That place is Angel Island; it's where the master emerald is kept," Sonic explained.

Nikki was speechless, unable to take her eyes off of the landmark. "I-It's beautiful! How is that even- you know what, I won't question it," she finally said. But then she looked around once more, puzzled. "Umm…how exactly are we supposed to get up there? Do people even live up there?" she questioned.

"Yes, people do live there, but the way to get up there is secret. Only me, Sonic, and a few others know it," Sally replied. She slid down the sides of the crater, Sonic and Nikki following behind her quickly, dirt clouds forming behind their shoes as dust particles rose around them.

Once reaching the bottom, the three of them almost walked under the island, until Sally stopped. She reached for her backpack once more, pulling out a yellow chaos emerald and holding onto it tightly. The chipmunk stared at it for a few seconds, preparing to lift it up in the air until Sonic stopped her.

"How about we let Nikki try?" he said, looking at the other hedgehog. After he said that, both Sally and Nikki looked surprised.

"A-Are you sure that's safe?" Sally questioned as Sonic grabbed the chaos emerald out of her hand.

Sonic didn't bother to respond, because honestly, he had no clue what would happen. He approached Nikki, grabbing her hands and placing the yellow chaos emerald in her palms. It was glowing faintly, as if reacting to something in the area. Nikki looked scared, her arms shaking as she held the emerald. She had heard a few things about chaos emeralds and their powers, and just remembering their stories made her fear she couldn't and shouldn't handle its power.

"Okay, now raise the emerald up into the air and squeeze it as tight as you can. Something…magical might happen," Sonic said, chuckling. Nikki looked down at the emerald, and then nodded at Sonic as she turned to the island, a firm expression on her face. Slowly, she raised it into the air, closing her eyes and squeezing the item in her hand.

All of a sudden, there was rumbling around the group. The sudden event scared Nikki as she threw the yellow emerald, gasping in horror as she fell back. Sonic, with quick reactions, dove forward and caught the emerald before it hit the ground, letting out a sigh of relief as the dirt clouds around him disappeared.

"I-I'm so sorry!" Nikki said, her face as red as a tomato as she tried to hide it. She thought that she'd messed everything up, and possibly put the island in danger by starting some sort of quake by trying to use the chaos emerald.

Sally quickly walked up to her, placing her hand on the hedgehog's shoulder. "Hey, don't be sorry, you actually did it! Look!" Sally said, pointing up. Nikki looked up, hoping nothing bad had happened. But to her surprise, long vines actually started to grow off the side of Angel Island, swinging around gracefully as they lowered towards the ground. Once they reached the group's feet, the fines stopped growing.

Sonic approached one of the vines and grasped onto them tightly, smiling. Sally grabbed Nikki's hand and lead her towards the vines.

"Don't be afraid, just grab on and enjoy the ride," Sonic said encouragingly. Nikki gave a weak smile, grabbing the one in the middle as Sally got the vine to the right. To Nikki's surprise, the vines latched around her hands, ensuring that she would not fall. Then, all of them starting to quickly rise from the ground. Sonic and Sally were having a great time, screaming in joy and excitement. And Nikki, well, she was screaming in fright, practically hugging the vine and closing her eyes as she lifted more and more into the air, her curly grey and red hair flying everywhere and getting into her mouth.

The ride only lasted about 20 seconds, and soon the group found themselves on a solid surface once more. They pulled themselves onto the island, but Sonic and Sally had to help Nikki detach from the vine she was clinging to. The female hedgehog was shaking like a leaf, barely standing.

"I-I think I'm gonna be sick…" Nikki said in a hoarse voice, finding the nearest tree and leaning on it. However, Sonic and Sally were laughing at Nikki's reaction to the experience, though Sally tried her hardest not to make Nikki feel any worse.

"I'm- haha- I'm sorry, Nikki. It's just…pfft, HAHAHAHA!" Sonic laughed, grabbing at his stomach. Nikki looked at his with both annoyance and anger, gritting her teeth. Her right hand alit with fire as she approached the blue hedgehog, punching him hard in the shoulder. Sonic suddenly stopped laughing.

"AH, HOT HOT!" Sonic screamed, jerking back and grabbing at his shoulder. He tumbled backwards and fell over a rock and into a stream of water. Nikki snickered, and Sally was about to start laughing as well until the girl then looked at her, smirking. She stopped, looking at the ground and keeping a straight face.

Sonic leaning up, rubbing his head and groaning. He opened his eyes, staring at Nikki evilly. But then, he heard some noise farther downstream. He stood up, following the flow of water without even notifying the girls. Nikki and Sally looked at him, then at each other. They shrugged, following Sonic. After a few seconds, they discovered a girl along with a black horse with white hair. This girl could easily be identified as an echidna, about 18 years of age. Her fur was a cyan color, and her apparel seemed somewhat tribal. But the weird thing about this was that her and the horse seemed to be surrounded by some kind of faint blue aura.

Then, accidentally, Sonic stepped on a twig on the ground as it made a loud snapping noise. Him, Nikki, and Sally froze, but the horse was still alerted. It neighed and jumped on its hind legs, panicking. The horse then turned and ran, but as it ran, it seemed as if it faded away like a ghost!

"A-Avel, wait! AVEL!" the echidna shouted hopelessly. She ran in the direction of the horse, fading away as well. After a few seconds of waiting, the group hiding behind the trees finally walked into the opening, examining the area.

"I'm not the only one that saw that, right?" Sonic questioned.

"Nope," Nikki replied, "That was some freaky shit right there. This place isn't like, haunted, is it?" she questioned.

Sally shook her head, "We've never heard of this place being haunted. Our friend has lived here forever, and he's never told us about any weird presences. Speaking of which, we should probably find Knuckles and ask him about it."

Sonic and Nikki nodded in agreement, and the three of them quickly went on to find the Master Emerald Guardian.

* * *

The small shelter was dark and cold, water dripping from the ceiling and rats scurrying around the place and into small holes in the walls. Mobians were sitting along the walls in the main room, wrapped with dirty, tattered blankets. They were all in poor condition, some with illnesses and others starving. Ryder was sitting on the floor in front of them, his sword in hand as he pressed his finger down the deadly, metal part of it.

"This, my fellow Mobians, is the Silver Izanagi," he said, holding the sword with both hands. The people in the group, mostly the children, ooh'd and aah'd, looking at their refection in the clean blade. Even Starlight walked in to watch the presentation, sitting down on the floor and crisscrossing her legs.

Meanwhile, Amy was in the kitchen preparing food for everyone. She looked over a steaming hot stewpot, stirring the liquidy stew inside. It had potatoes, carrots, thin cut beef, red onions, and lots of other vegetables as well. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough, and everyone could only get about 4 or 5 tablespoons worth. She hopes that by serving it in small bowls and letting everyone use teaspoons would be good enough.

On the other side of the room, Aria was slicing up two loaves of bread to go along with the stew, though both of them were very stale. She was very annoyed, using the butter knife in an attempt to give everyone an equal slice, but unfortunately it was somewhat obvious that some slices were bigger than the others. She sighed in annoyance, dropping the knife and letting it clatter on the wooden counter. She slid down onto the floor slowly and crossed her arms, leaning on her knees and sitting silently. Amy looked at her.

"It's gonna be okay, Aria. It seems like Eggman's robot forces have been letting up recently; maybe we're taking them out so fast he can't even keep sending them here. Maybe then we can finally go back to-…" the pink hedgehog tried to say, but her words faded as she noticed Aria was hardly listening. She heard the faint sniffles of the green hedgehog, and decided to let her have a moment to herself. Amy grabbed plastic bowls out of the pantry, filling them with stew and bringing them into the main room to serve the others.


End file.
